Losing Your Religion

TITLE: LOSING YOUR RELIGION

SCRIPTURE: ST. JOHN 3:1-10

The first appearance of Nicodemus we see are found in the scriptures as read in our text. Nicodemus went to seek out Jesus at night. He was afraid to be seen with Him in the day. When Nicodemus met Jesus, he said he believed Jesus came from God but quantified this as being merely a teacher. He believed this because no one could do the miracles Jesus was doing unless God is with him. What is so fascinating with this is many of the other Pharisees witnessed the same miracles that Nicodemus did and many other Israelites did as well and the miracles was a key factor as to the reasons many believed, yet many of the Pharisees did not. Jesus said the reason they did not believe is because they did not know the Father, and NO ONE CAN KNOW THE SON UNLESS THEY KNOW THE FATHER and vice versa. Yet, when Nicodemus saw the miracles, he believed Jesus had come from God.

I believe Nicodemus had a soft heart and he wanted to authentically serve the Lord. He may have struggled with similar self-righteous and proud sins the other Pharisees did and many of us do, but overall, deep in his heart, he wanted to follow the Lord. He knew of the Father and because he knew of the Father he too had a desire to know something more about this man called Jesus.

• I believe many of us are like Nicodemus

• We struggle being like the Pharisees, but deep in our hearts we want to follow the Lord

• And like Nicodemus we too can break away from our Pharisee like qualities and whole heartedly follow the Lord

Let’s examine Nicodemus for a few moments this morning. What do we know about him?

• He was a devout man, no doubt about that at all

• He prayed daily

• He studied the scriptures constantly

• He visited the sick regularly, and offered words of comfort to the grieving relentlessly

• He was one of the “regulars” in church

• If the doors were open, Nicodemus was there

Each and every week you would find him in his usual place, that pew that felt almost like it had been bequeathed to him by God. He was comfortable in his place and the comfort of the familiar seat in the sanctuary helped him focus on God. But he didn’t just sit in worship. No, he worshipped God with everything he had.

• When the congregation sang - he sang with gusto

• When the congregation prayed - he prayed with fervor

• If he were living today, he probably would have checked-in on FACEBOOK when he arrived, and TWEETED whenever the preacher said something in the sermon that spoke to him, or whenever the music moved him

He would have done these things because he would have wanted to share with the world that which was so important to him -

• Worshipping the God who Created him

• Worshipping the God who Sustained him

• Worshipping the God who he knew would one day Redeem him

I suppose that he was the type of man you would find fixing pancakes on Saturday mornings for the Brotherhood Meeting or for those who were hungry in the community and distributing produce in the HFV Wilson Community Center on Wednesdays to those in need. If he had been handy with a hammer, I’m pretty sure you would see him joining the local Habitat for Humanity on Thursdays as well.

• He was a good man, no doubt about that

• His name could have been Simon or Max, but his name was Nicodemus

• Nicodemus was one of the leaders of the Pharisees

As a Pharisee, he believed that God’s law had to be strictly observed and that strict observance was necessary in order to obtain God’s blessing. And since he was a Pharisee, he would have believed that God’s law included not just the 10 Commandments, but a whole host of other Rules - Regulations - Rituals which had grown up over time. He believed all of these needed to be strictly observed in order for God to be pleased.

Given the Pharisees’ concern about keeping God’s laws, and their strict interpretation of those laws, it is not particularly surprising the Pharisees had what might best be described as a “tense relationship” with Jesus. At times Jesus referred to them as –

• Ye blind guides (Matt. 23:16)

• Ye fools (Matt. 23:17)

• Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees…for ye are like whited supulchres…full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness (Matt. 23:27)

• Ye serpents (Matt. 23:33)

• Ye generation of vipers (Matt. 23:33)

• Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! (Luke 11:44)